Saturday, 6 April 2013

A passion for fashion, and for...recycling, and using up oddments that might otherwise get thrown away. Remember Operation Pancake? Here is a flat card with a summer appeal.

One set of items I wouldn't be without as a cardmaker and scrapbooker are my punches. I didn't pay much for the smaller ones and they are great for using up oddments and making them look great with their crisp, professional edges and neat wee shapes. These squares use two small flower ones, a six-petalled one and a many pointy petalled one, each measuring 10mm across. You also need some bits of card or paper (preferably card) in colors that look well together, I have gone for a clashing but eye-catching orange, pink, white, black and another pink that truly does not look dusty gray in real life.

Here is the first square. Cut a 3" square of orange card and stick a 2 1/2" square of white card on top. Use this template to cut a pink handbag:

Stick it on top of the white card, and add some lines of purple and silver glitter. Punch out flowers as shown, add glitter centers and top it off with a white feather. I have a pair of herring gulls who live in my garden who supply me with these!

Let's make another:

Cut another square of orange card the same size, and then add the smaller square in pink. Cut out two of these in white card:

Decorate as shown with silver glitter and punched flowers. One more:

This one has a white base square (the black lines are just to show where the edges are) and a black smaller square. Cut out one of these in orange:

and decorate by punching out siz-petalled flowers in one color and sticking the other flower shape on top in a different color. Add a blob of silver glitter as a center, and stick all over the swimsuit cutting off at the edges to look like patterned fabric. Add some more polka dots of silver glitter and your square is finished.

I've done squares, but you could use these to decorate ATCs or make them larger and put them on a memory album page. You could also use oddments of patterned paper, fabric, felt or whatever you have at hand. I decorated a waterfall card with them:

I have to admit that I love templates. They are so versatile and easy to make from oddments of card. Store them in plastic bags (I save the ones catalogs come in) and you have something for every occasion.

About Me

I've been working as a freelance craft designer since 1992 and have contributed to various magazines including Sewing World, Sew Hip, Modern Quilting, Papercraft Inspirations, The Bead Magazine, Making Cards, 12 x 12, Simply Crafts, Toymaking, Needlework, several Eaglemoss partworks, Popular Crafts and Creative Scrapbooking. I also enjoy teaching crafts and designing cards for sale at Craftsuprint.